New Beginnings
by squigle.x
Summary: Lost Sequel: Since returning to CHERUB a year previously, Dakota has fought to keep her past at bay, keep her feelings burried in able to successfully move forwards. What happens when her past finds her and threatens to break what she has built up? Her heart was breaking, her CHERUB career ending, she was saving her sister. There was no turning back. This was it.
1. Existence

Dakota's whole world came crashing down in that moment, maybe it was the same moment her CHERUB career began to crumble. She couldn't breathe properly, she couldn't get enough oxygen. What if Silikov Industries were doing what they did to her? Would her sister still be alive?

"Dakota you need to calm down." Zara's face came in line with her vision, her hands were on the younger agents shoulder's.

"I can't breath." she whispered.

"I know." Zara said slowly. "Calm down, breathe in, hold it and then breathe out."

Dakota did as she was told and soon started to feel better. She glanced over her shoulder to see Kerry and James watching her slightly alarmed.

"Why are they here?" Dakota asked her voice cracking.

Zara glanced over at the two agents sat quietly in front of her desk. "They are going on a mission to rescue your sister."

"I need to go on that mission, they don't know how the Silikov clan works! And they don't know Russia!"

"It's too dangerous." she said.

"If it is, why did you bring me back?"

"We need to keep an eye on you, and have you on call for any information."

Dakota rolled her eyes. "I'm not doing it unless I can go and help."

Zara sighed. "Look, I know you feel the need to rescue your sister but it will be better in the long run if you wait." she watched Dakota cautiously. "Besides we have two of our best agents on the mission, two agents you undoubtedly trust."

Dakota stood up. "Well message me when something happens or you change your mind." She snarled storming out of Zara's office before she could call her back.

Dakota went straight to her room, almost knocking a red shirt over in the process. She found Sam waiting outside her room, he was leaning against the wall. When he saw her he snapped to attention.

"You alright?" he asked following her into her room.

Dakota face planted her bed and groaned into the duvet. "They won't let me go on a mission to save my sister." she mumbled lifting her head from the fabric. "I mean I still hate her cos she left but still, she's my sister."

"I know, I was surprised when they said you weren't allowed on the mission." Sam agreed.

Dakota groaned again. Sam walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "One good thing has happened out of this."

Dakota lifted her head . "Oh yeah?"

"You've come back early, it means you can go on that date with me."

She chuckled. "I guess so."

"Do you want to do it tomorrow? I mean it is Saturday and the shuttle is taking a bunch of us to the cinema."

Dakota smiled and sat up. "Might as well."

"Now will you be okay if I left you on your own? I don't want you burning down CHERUB or nothing when I'm in class." Sam said standing up.

"Don't give me ideas." she murmured

Sam gave Dakota's shoulder a squeeze. "Hang in there, it should be alright." he walked out the room and closed the door. It wasn't until he was gone that Dakota lay on her back.

"I hope so." she whispered a plan already forming in her mind.

At eleven the next morning Kerry and James stopped by to say goodbye to Dakota before they left, she just stared at them from beneath her covers.

"Look," Kerry sighed. "We're going to bring her back, okay?"

Dakota watched as Kerry paced the length of her room, James stood by the door not sure he wanted to interrupt.

"You should probably go, catch a flight or whatever." Dakota said.

"Yes, I believe I will." Kerry said giving her friend one more look before charging out of the room, James following quickly in her footsteps. Dakota could hear Kerry's annoyed moans as she headed down the hall.

Once Dakota was sure they weren't coming back she scooted out of bed and pulled the backpack from beneath her bed. It was filled with food, spare clothes and a knife and gun she had stolen the previous night. She took the walther p-22 pistol from her back and held it out in front of her, imagining what it would be like to finally see the bullet pass through Mr Silikov's head.

A knock at her door sent her into a mad panic as she stuffed the gun back into the pack and shoved it beneath her bed.

"Come in." Dakota called once she had settled herself back into bed.

Sam pushed the door open. "You ready to go yet? The shuttle leaves in half an hour."

"Yeah, I'll meet you down by the bus." she replied.

Dakota quickly got changed and slipped the backpack over her shoulder. She grabbed a muesli bar as she headed out of her room, she glanced back over her shoulder and took one last look at her room and hoped she wouldn't see it again any time soon.

Dakota tried to enjoy her date with Sam, she tried to be happy, enjoy the movie, but nothing could stop her from thinking about her sister. CHERUB had made a fatal mistake sending Kerry and James, they didn't truly know what Silikov Industries was capable of. They hadn't experienced it first hand.

It was getting late by the time the movie finished and Sam and Dakota were making their way back to the bus. Sam's hand slipped into Dakota's and he squeezed her fingers.

"You okay?" he asked.

Dakota bit her lip. "Come with me."

Sam stopped and turned to face Dakota. Other pedestrians and CHERUB agents carried on walking, no one noticed their sudden stop. "What?"

Her blue eyes were wide as she stared up at Sam. "Come with me," she repeated. "Come with me to Russia."

Sam's breath caught in his throat. "You can't go back."

"I have to, James and Kerry don't know what they are going up against." she said. "I have to go."

"You know I'm going to have to stop you? You will lose your CHERUB career." Sam pleaded. "What about everything you've worked so hard for?"

Dakota shrugged her eyes filling with tears. "All that stopped meaning something when Silikov Industries took my sister."

"Please," he said. "Stay for me."

Dakota watched as Sam's eyes filled with worry. "I'll be fine." she leaned up and kissed him, "Completely fine." she whispered against his lips.

"Don't." he said running a hand down the side of her face, tracing the tear which had escaped her restraints.

"I have to." she said. "I owe that much to my sister."

They stood in silence as Sam watched Dakota, hoping there was a way he could change her mind. He soon came to a conclusion, she was stubborn, there was nothing he could do. "Be safe." he whispered.

Dakota smiled up at him. "I will be."

Sam kissed her and then pulled her into a hug. "I don't want to lose you." he said into her hair. "I only just got you."

"I know."

Sam stepped back tears in his eyes. "Go, I'll make up some excuse. You will only have a few minutes."

"Thank you." Dakota said.

"Don't make me regret this."

"You won't."

Dakota turned away from Sam and walked back up the street, she couldn't turn back. She knew if she did she wouldn't be able to leave. Her heart was breaking, her CHERUB career ending, she was saving her sister. There was no turning back. This was it.

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**A/N:**

**Chapter one of the sequel. I hope you enjoyed Lost and this will be just as good if not better :)**

**A user suggested I make this into a trilogy, I might do. Hopefully the updates will be slightly more frequent in this story compared to the last one.**

**Review, I appreciate them.**

**Over and out.**


	2. Running

**One Week Later**

**London, England**

Dakota held her breath and counted to four, she could hear the voices on the other side of the wall, she could hear the voices of her past. It was dark and the only light came from the bright full moon hanging in the sky. She had been running from CHERUB, the number of people she had spotted following her, tracking her. They never stayed on her tail for longer than a few hours because Dakota Costello was the chameleon, the best pavement artist. She could blend in with her surroundings, no one would notice her.

"I'm sure she went this way." Lauren sighed kicking the empty crate inside the Warehouse.

"This is hopeless." Bethany said pushing the door to the dingy warehouse open. "We're never going to find her."

"Yes you will." Dakota said springing out from behind the rubbish bins, she ducked Bethany's flying fist and brought her leg into the younger agent's side. Bethany gasped in pain before crumpling to the wet tarmac.

Lauren pushed off from the door with a kick that sent Dakota stumbling, she was about to give her perfected punch which would send her to the ground when Dakota spun round. Her blonde hair obscured her face as she twisted out of Lauren's grip.

There was a click and Lauren froze, she could see the shadow of the gun pointed at her heart. "You wouldn't?" she panted.

Dakota's gaze was hard, her face twisted into a scowl. "Oh, I would."

Lauren held her hands up as she remembered Zara's word of warning; she had to keep her occupied until help came. She brought her hand to her ear as if to scratch it but instead she sounded the panic alarm.

"We know you are upset, but CHERUB is handling it." Lauren said feeling a sense of calm as she heard the muffled beep of the alarm. Help was on its way.

"You might think they are, but they're not." Dakota said.

Bethany was groaning as she stood up, leaning heavily on her friend and clutching her side. Dakota's gaze flickered to the other girl but the gun didn't waver.

"Just come back, if you don't we'll have to use force." Lauren said as she heard the distant rumble of the chopper.

"You shouldn't have hit the panic alarm." Dakota growled her voice was hard, cold.

Lauren didn't recognise the girl before her, she had changed. She was a shadow of her original self; she looked like a cold blooded killer. "Why?"

She didn't answer, there was a click as the safety of the gun was taken off. Lauren squeezed her eyes shut when there was a bang, she felt a force hit her in the side and she went stumbling backwards. Bethany was crying in pain and when Lauren opened her eyes she saw Bethany lying beside her, eyes wide with pain as blood gushed out of her shoulder. When Lauren sat up Dakota was already gone, footsteps came running and John Jones appeared from the shadows followed closely by Bruce. They didn't need to ask what was happening when they saw Bethany lying in a growing pool of blood.

Dakota didn't stop running until she reached the tube; she acted as if she was in a rush, pushing past the tourists, the elderly and business men. No one noticed her; they were all wrapped up in their own lives. The tube which Dakota slipped on took her straight to Paddington Station, it was busier there than the tube. The high arched ceiling towered above her, streams of people pushed through the metal barriers, people crowded around the train time's board. The orange letters blinked and changed, she watched them closely picking out the platform number and the train time.

Dakota knew there would be CHERUB agents monitoring all major train stations, so she bought a ticket, Eurostar direct to Paris before leaving the station and heading to the nearest Boots. She had two hours to kill before the train left the station; she kept her head level as she walked down the individual isles.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked.

Dakota glanced up at the lady stood next to her; she looked like the typical bored sales assistant. "I was looking to liven up my hair."

The sale assistant with the name tag Lucy looked at Dakota for a moment before looking at the shelf. "Try this, it's all the rage." she said pointing to a bottle of coffee coloured brown.

"Thanks." Dakota said taking the packet off the shelf; she had never gone brown before. After paying for the hair dye Dakota walked into the public toilets, she shut herself in a cubicle and sat on the toilet seat gazing at the packet. Reading through the instructions she secretly hoped her hair wouldn't start falling out. It had been less than a month since she bleached it blonde.

An hour later she walked out of the bathrooms a slightly ginger coffee brown, not the exact look she was going for but she didn't mind. Keeping her head down and she walked to the station. Crowds of panicked travellers filled the station, each one pushing in a different direction, harassed business men pushed forwards little children tangled themselves around their mother's feet. Dakota was swallowed up in the chaos; no one gave her a second glance except for the boy stood directly in front of her. Her heart stopped as she took in his shaggy raven brown hair which looked almost black in the dim light, his soft brown eyes bore into her. She swallowed heavily and her feet started moving towards him, he quickly shook his head and nodded to his left. Dakota let her eyes travel the crowd until she saw Amy Collins and Chloe stood watching Sam and the crowds. She nodded and pushed to her right until she reached the Eurostar, she let the harassed tourists clamber on, their sombreros out of place against the dark British skies.

Dakota saw his reflection in the train's window before she heard his voice. "Nice hair." Sam sighed reaching forwards and tugging at a piece of hair which cascaded past her shoulders.

She turned to him. "I know."

Sam stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around her. "I can distract them long enough for you to get on the train."

Dakota felt her eyes fill with tears as she tried to memorise his embrace. "Thank you." She whispered into his jumper.

"Go," Sam said stepping back, Dakota leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before stepping on the train. She didn't look back, it was the second time she had to say goodbye. She didn't like goodbyes.

She didn't truly settle until the train was hurtling out of London, the grey blur of the buildings fading into the green countryside. She closed her eyes and leant her head against the window, shutting out the past week's memories until she fell into an unsettled sleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Chapter dos, hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't too bad! It will get better though, promise. I personally have never dyed my hair but I have had enough friends do it for it to go terribly wrong.**

**Well these updates will most likely be VERY unfrequent with exams coming up and everything, while you guys float in your bubbles of happiness I will be pulling my hair out due to stress:)**

**Review and I will update!**


	3. Remorse

**Rome, Italy**

The sun was low in the sky when Dakota stepped off the train in Italy, the warm spring air rushing past in whips of wind. She couldn't feel its warmth, only the icy cold of the dark thoughts in the back of her mind.

"Bollocks." She groaned pivoting on the ball of her foot for the second time. She was lost in the middle of a station in Rome, her Italian was rusty and it took her a while to translate the signs.

She pushed past all the tourists which crowded the platform and made her way to the exit. Her bag hung familiarly between her shoulder blades, she kept her hand in her pocket clutching the dagger.

No one noticed her departure of the train station, even the CIA agent posted on the platform. Dakota's memories were slowly coming back, the time when Sililov had taken her to Rome to do his dirty work, to try to make her break. He had been testing her, seeing if he could break her. She had spent a week locked in a hotel room with a bomb strapped to her chest. The rules had been simple, diffuse the bomb, tell Silikov who you work for and the bomb will be diffused or kill a hotel of innocent people along with yourself. Dakota couldn't let innocent lives be lost because of her mistakes, even if it meant an easy way out for herself and she wouldn't dare tell Silikov of CHERUB.

Dakota waved down a taxi outside the station, she slumped into the cracked leather seat reciting the address of the hotel on the outskirts of the city.

The drive took her past the colosseum and towards the hotel which she had come to hate. The driver pulled to a stop and she paid for the journey. She stood on the pavement staring up at the building before, dark memories swirling in the back of her mind.

The man she was searching for wasn't in the hotel, and she knew that, deep in her mind. She followed her faint memories, they pulsed against her closed eye lids. Ever so slowly she turned to face the run down house on the opposite side of the road. She could remember glancing out of the window all those years ago and watching Silikov walk inside. He had gone in unarmed, without the help of his body guards. It meant only one thing. He had trusted someone inside that building. It was the key to finding Silikov unaware and taking him down from his blind side.

Dakota stepped into the road keeping her head bowed, face hidden behind her hair. She knew she wouldn't be recognised by the people who went and left the city but she couldn't take that chance. Bile rose in the back of her throat the closer she got to the building. It was in worse wear than what her memory had told, the paint was peeling off the wood and the once colourful window frames were now grim with dirt.

She brought her shaking fist to the wooden door, her knocks seemed to ring inside her head and she felt herself sway. When there was no immediate response she almost turned and ran, but something kept her glued to the spot. Eventually the door opened, a man in his late forties rested against the door way. He gave her a glance up and down, making her suddenly feel self-conscious.

"How can I help you?" He asked in Italian. "Did Luke send you?"

Dakota shook her head and smiled. "I'm looking for Silikov," She said in Italian her hand gripping the handle of the dagger, "And don't pretend you don't know who I'm talking about."

The man had gone as pale as paper, he stumbled back into the hall tugging on the door as he went. Dakota shoved her foot forwards stopping the door from closing, she gave it a firm kick and it thumped backwards wildly, straining on hits hinges.

The man stumbled backwards his eyes wide with fear. "Please, leave me alone!" He cried holding his hand out in a peaceful gesture.

Dakota held the dagger raised above my head, ready to strike if he dared to move. "Tell me where he is?"

The man straightened up and lowered his hand. "_Silikov never tells anyone where he is, you should know that."_ He shook his head. "_You can never find him, I can never find him."_

The Russian was like a soft release to her ears. "_I know the last time you saw him was five years ago."_

Sweat dribbled down the man's forehead. "_He said that was the day I was going to die."_

"_Because of a bomb in the hotel_." Dakota whispered pushing the front door closed with her foot.

The man's eyes widened in shock. "_How_?"

She shrugged. "_I was the bomb._"

Recognition flickered deep in the man's eyes. "_You_." He uttered.

She nodded. "_Yes, now last chance to tell me where he is or I'll kill you_."

_"I can give you a name_." He whispered.

Dakota stepped forwards. "_Yes_?"

"_Aksenov_,"

"_Where is he_?"

"_Moscow, Russia_."

"_Thank you."_

Dakota straightened up and turned towards the door, she heard a soft click and when she turned around the man held a gun pointed at her chest.

_"I can't let you go."_ He snarled. _"One promise I made to him_."

Dakota shrugged tightening the grip on the handle of her dagger. "_You can keep that promise._" She flung her arm forwards and dropped to the ground, there was a bang which flew above her head and embedded itself in the door behind her. There was a gasp of pain from the man and a sickening gurgle. She glanced up through her hair to see the man lying in a steadily growing pool of blood, her dagger hilt sticking out of his chest.

Dakota stood up and walked over, the man's blood stuck to her boots like a sticky red treacle. She pulled the blade from his chest and kicked the gun away, she brought the blade to his shoulder. It shone in the dim light before it disappeared into his flesh. He tried to get away, tried to punch her, scrape her. She just brought the blade deeper.

She detangled herself from his weakening grip and spun him against the wall holding the dagger to his throat. "_He won't be coming back for you_," She said smiling slightly. "_Not when I'm finished with him._"

"_Why? Why would you this? You will never find him_!"

"_Sweet dreams_." Dakota whispered pulling out the dagger, the man screamed in pain as she brought it across the soft skin of his neck, it dug into the flesh bursting it like the walls of dam. Warm blood trickled down her fingers, staining her hands red. She let go of his limp body and it fell to the floor with a thud.

A shocked expression was etched into his features as he stared blankly at the ceiling above. Dakota don't feel a single ounce of regret. She wondered if she would, she reached for the discarded gun and put it in her coat pocket. The house was silent as she ventured into the kitchen to wash her hands.

When she walked out of the house a light rain had begun to fall, making her hair stick to her head. She walked across the road to a stream of taxi's parked outside the hotel, she got in the back seat of the nearest one.

"Take me to the airport as fast as you can." She said in her best Italian.

The driver nodded and pulled away from the curb, Dakota watched out the window as Rome blurred past her. She hadn't dreamed if ever returning to Russia, let alone Moscow. She had spent years of her life trying to get away from Russia and in only a matter of months she was returning.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own CHERUB which is rather depressing. It would be amazing if I did, but then again maybe not as I would have to be a man...**

**Russian is in italics**

**I thought we could celebrate the 'not' end of the world with a new chapter, so here is another chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. **

**I want to say thank you to everyone who has reviews so far! It is quite uplifting! If you wanted to know I still have some hair, it hasn't all been ripped out just yet.**

**Why not review again? Tell me your thoughts of this epic adventure, and what you think should happen. A single review can help a crippled soul you know? Besides something terrible might happen if you don't hit review (ie. I may not continue this story and leave you hanging.) **

**Over and out.**


	4. News

_Sam pulled himself off the ground, his knees were shredded and his blood was already coating the pavement. His skateboard had skittered into the gutter and a couple of lads were laughing at him from down the street. He limped towards his board and picked it up. He cheeks reddening in embarrassment._

_"Got no balance have ya?" A boy shouted. "Orpho!"_

_Sam hung his head and scowled at his shoes._

_It got worse though, as he stumbled back to the orphanage it began to rain. Soon big puddles were forming in the road and on the path. The cool droplets stung his wounds and he was almost at the small building he called home when a car sped though a puddle. A wave of freezing cold water washed over hime and he was left dripping in stunned silence. His grip loosening on the board as his fingers went numb._

_He managed the last few steps and gratefully sank against the warm wall of the orphanage's hallway. There were shouts and giggles coming from various rooms but Alex ignored them as he shut his eyes._

_He had been at the orphanage in the middle of Wellington for over a year now since his parents death. They had been in a car accident, he was in it too. He survived but his parents didn't. The doctor's believed it was a miracle, he saw it as a curse._

_The other kids ignored his presence and tried to avoid him at all costs, they acted as if he had some form of contagious disease. It was as if they were susceptible to it if they stood to close. Sam kept to himself and didn't mind the lack of company, in a way he preferred it._

_He took the creaky steps to his room and collapsed onto his bed, his long limps dangling over the sides. His room mate Alex cleared his throat but Sam didn't respond. Alex spent all his evenings sat playing Fifa on his playstation, sometimes Sam joined in but it was quite rare._

_"How was school?" Alex's voice seemed to boom inside of Sam's head._

_"Bollocks," he growled._

_"What did you do to your hand?"_

_His right hand, he had almost forgotten about it. He had lost it today, like always. A group of lads were making fun of him, laughing over the fact that he was an orphan. Sam couldn't see the funny side. They struck a nerve countless times and all the things the therapist had said about counting to ten and calming down didn't work. He had lashed out. Punched and kicked Neil until strong hands had yanked him off._

_Sam was a good fighter, he always had been. His father was a Karate instructor and Sam was already a black belt, he could hold is own._

_"Punched someone, got suspended." Sam said rolling onto his back and tucking his swelling hand beneath his head. "I've been to four schools in the past month, I'm surprised they didn't expel me."_

_"Yeah," Alex sighed, "Sometimes I wonder if teachers even have brains."  
Sam chuckled. "I wonder about that all the time."_

_Sam didn't go down to dinner and stayed huddled under his sheets staring at the TV until he fell asleep. He heard Alex wander in later and he glanced through a half closed eye as he sat down on his bed. He closed his eyes again and started drifting to sleep until he felt something sharp dig into his arm. His eyes flew open and Alex was hovering over him holding him against the bed. Sam felt sick when he saw the needle sticking out of his arm._

_"What the hell!" He exclaimed as he tried to break free, his limbs gradually became heavier until he slumped against the bed._

A sharp clap brought Sam out of his slumber, James's little sister was hovering over his bed. The dream of his past was gone from his mind in an instant.

"What the actual f-" he started as Lauren yanked of his sheets and stormed out of the room taking them with her. He sat up blinking the sleep from his eyes and stretching. He made his way to his dresser and pulled out a crisp uniform and pulled it over his head.

He found Lauren waiting outside his room still clutching the duvet in her arms, her blue eyes were wide. She usually had a cold hard exterior but now she looked fragile.

"What's up?" Sam couldn't understand why Lauren was here, he had never been very good friends with James let alone Lauren.

"He's gone."

"Who's gone?"

Lauren wiped a tear from her cheek. "James, Kerry, Ewart." She sobbed. "Silikov's taken them!"

Sam's sleepy brain took longer than usual to process the information. His mind began spinning as he stared at Lauren. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am!" She exclaimed wiping another tear from her face. "We're wanted down at Mission Control ASAP, I think Zara is organising an extraction team."

"She must be falling apart." Sam muttered as he followed Lauren down the hall, he didn't bother to try point out that she was still carrying his duvet and dragging it across the carpet. They stood in silence as they took the elevator down.

By the time they reached Mission Control Sam's once crisp white duvet now had varying shades of brown around the edges where Lauren had dragged it across the damp gravel. Zara's eyes were puffy and red, and her hands shook as she let the duo into the room.

Amy was also sat at the table looking pretty shaken up. "They called me from my mission, I can't believe it."

Zara sat down in a chair and began shuffling paper's around the desk. "This news has come to a shock to most of us," she started. "We all know of what Silikov is capable of and the only Agent who knows how to find him is gone. I have called in you three as you all have personal connections to the Agent's who are missing. You know how they think, you may even know where to find the,." Zara's gaze travelled to Sam's and he ducked his head. "We believe Silikov recognised Ewart from five years ago, how it is possible we are unsure. I will be sending you three to Moscow to see if you can find any clues into what happened yesterday evening. MI7 and the CIA are wanting to shit CHERUB down after they have heard what has happened. I need your help to prove to them that we can withstand this, that we can pull through and save them."

The three Agent's were silent as they watched the Chairwoman stand. "There is no mission briefing, we're going under the radar. We leave in ten minutes."

Sam left the room right after Zara, he ran across to the main building and up the stairs. He couldn't wait for the lift to travel down. He was packed and ready within five minutes, he reached for his cellphone and typed in the number Dakota had given to him in case of emergencies. He believed this was an emergency, although he wasn't sure she would respond because the number could be traced. He knew she was far more clever than to give him a working number but he wrote it anyway.

_S has J, K, E. on a save mish with L, A, Z_

He pressed send and dropped the phone into his back not noticing the instant response.

_I know_

* * *

**A/N:**

**I realised the other day that it has been MONTHS since I last updated this, I feel bad. Here is chapter 3. **

**Also if you are going to favourite/follow/alert could you please also leave a few words of wisdom?**

**over and out**


	5. Consolodate

Dakota stepped into the ankle deep snow, it was February but the grounds were still white and cold. The winds bit at her face, trying to tear away her barrier. She ducked her head down, pulling the scarf closer to her face and walked towards the shabby apartment building before her. A bored looking clerk was slumped behind the desk. Fred.

Dakota didn't stop walking when he yelled in surprise. _"It's me_." She said in Russian, the cold hard persona of Danielle coming back.

He nodded and scrambled to his feet. _"I didn't think you would be coming back!"_

She smiled sweetly at him. "_Have a motorbike ready and waiting by the time I get back here."_ She said snatching the room keys from his outstretched hand.

Dakota took the stairs two at a time, still not trusting herself to take the elevator. When she reached the second floor she kept her eyes open for any sign of life. The hallway was dead and she made her way down the darkened corridor. The carpet was almost threadbare and she could see hints of the wooden panels beneath. She stopped in front of room 106 and shoved the key into the lock, there was a soft click and she stepped into the room.

It was as if she had never left, her suitcase was still lying open on the bed, her bed was unmade, her bathroom door was still slightly open from when she had rushed out. The air was stale but Fred had kept his promise.

She locked the door behind herself and went to the suitcase, picking out some clean clothes before turning back to the bathroom. She ran a boiling hot bath and sunk beneath the water. Her brain was turning over different ideas at a million miles an hour. She felt like she was going to explode.

She had to find Aksenov, the name sounded familiar but she couldn't find the memories linking with that name. The only thing which was vivd was the museum.

An hour later she came down stairs with a different hair colour, she had found a packet of dye in the cupboard. She now sported long blonde curls, she gripped the strap of her backpack as she snatched the keys from Frank's outstretched hand.

Dakota took the bus to the Museum of Moscow, it was a grand building opposite the river. She couldn't remember why it was so vivid in her memories, the building looked unfamiliar. She paid her entrance fee and began to wander around the building, reading each sign. Careful to keep her head low when there was a security camera. A group of high school kids helped her cover, she trailed along behind them for the next two hours.

It was nearing lunch time when Dakota ducked into the bathrooms, they were empty and she leant against the sink pondering what to do next. A sudden force threw her forward and her head connected with the porcelain sink with a crack. Dazed, Dakota stumbled clutching her throbbing head. Her attacker sent another kick and it sent her crashing into the mirror, the glass shattering on impact.

She dropped to the ground clutching her head, the attacker grabbed her wrists and dragged her across the floor. They passed through the janitors closet to some stairs, her hip caught the worst of it as she was pulled down the steps. Her attacker threw her to the ground and when she looked up through her hair a man was stood glaring down at her.

"_Danielle_," he murmured reaching over and taking the gun from the waistband of her jeans. _"I thought you would put up more of a fight. Disappointing."_

Dakota pushed herself to her feet and she stood facing the young man, he looked about thirty with dark hair and green eyes. He was well built and she didn't need to telling to know he was strong. Her attacker was even younger, he looked a lot like James. He had blonde hair and similar build.

"_I'm sorry to disappoint Aksenov._" Dakota smiled sweetly.

_"You were his most prized possession, I thought he had lost it when he told me about you."_ Aksenov chuckled. "_But then I saw you, the way you escaped. It was impressive."_

"_Where is he?_" She asked.

Aksenov laughed as if was the funniest thing he had heard._ "Why should I tell you?"_

"_I realise now that_," Dakota paused and stared at her hands. _"I was better off when I was with him. I regret leaving."_

"_So you should, but unfortunate for you."_ Aksenov said beginning to pace. "_I've never liked Silikov so I'm just going to have to kill you._"

Dakota seized her opportunity, she charged at Aksenov. They hit the floor with a thud and she rolled away from him, kicking the gun from his hand in the process. Her attacker reached for his gun but Dakota's dagger was soon sticking out of his chest. She ran over to him and took his gun, shooting him in the head. She re-sheathed her dagger and turned to face Aksenov.

Aksenov was pulling himself to his feet, he was grinning._ "Well done_."

Dakota took the safety off the gun. "_Where is he_."

Aksenov threw his hands in the air and limped forwards._ "I will never tell you."_

Dakota pulled the trigger and he screamed in pain as a bullet tore through his shoulder. "_Where is he?_" She repeated.

_"Go to hell."_ Aksenov spat.

Dakota sent a shot to his knee and he crumpled to the ground. "_Where is he?_" She asked. _"I have all day and I will continue to do this."_

Realising she wasn't kidding he grunted in pain as she kicked his bleeding knee. "_He's in Sharapovo."_

Dakota smiled at him. "_Thanks_." She pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger, his dead body dropped to he ground with a thud. She picked up her discarded backpack and dropped the two new guns into it an few magazine clips.

She walked back into the bathroom and smiled sweetly at the girl washing her hands. The girl gave her an alarmed look but didn't say anything. Dakota knew she was dishevelled, she had grit and dust smeared with blood down her face and hands. She stopped by the sink and poured water on her stinging wounds. Rearranging her hair she hid the bloody wound and ducked out of the bathroom.

Dakota drove out of the city and towards Sharapovo, only now did her gut start to twist itself into knots.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Look, another update! I don't know what is wrong with me...  
I hoped you enjoyed it. Thanks to all the people who continue to review! It makes me happy :)**

**Review, okay?**

**Over and Out**


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